Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

And then that $60 game didn't make as much money back as they wanted.

 

It was more thinking out loud than needed an answer. I know why they did it. They're trying to scam us out of money like they've been doing for the last couple of releases. It must be working because they keep doing it.

​

 

It didn't make as much as they wanted, but it still made more than if it were $40.

 

No doom here, as that's a actually a sensible strategy to "weaker" starting sales.

It shows they still believe the project will have legs and are willing to invest in it as such rather than abandoned it outright (as many companies would do).

Also, despite my (major) problems with this game, they're correct. Better marketing and a longer term investment in it will let it sell better eventually. Keep it on shelves and let the sale prices drop in a bit longer and it likely will sell much better as time goes on.

Same with post release support. Keep those patches coming and it will definitely generate more goodwill.

I have no idea if they will bother to fix any of our core complaints though. Too many of the issues are more basic design flaws that I'm not sure even have good workarounds (music being the exception). Despite the calls for it, mid-boss checkpoints would be kind of awkward to insert into things as the bosses are currently designed.

Once again, it is what it is.

Because idiots like me bought it at full price thinking they'd at least have a shot at matching Mania's feel and quality from start to finish.

Sad thing is, if they did, I would not have regretted paying full price for it either.

I didn't buy Frontiers or Forces at launch mind you, so this was the exception. Mania was the last title I purchased on launch (and I bought 2 copies, including the Switch CE)

 

As far as the boss design is concerned, I think you could actually rework things quite a bit to make them much more tolerable to play. As people have said before, the boss design after the first few zones wants to have its cake and eat it by telling players it can only attack when it says it can, but then force the player through gauntlets that can't be skipped or avoided. You could easily cut the crap by addressing one if not both. Concerning bosses that do stay in the arena (and could theoretically be regularly attacked), tell the Mania/remasters approach to hitboxes to piss off, and keep them always active like in the old games (so even when bosses have lightning or other hazards surrounding them that that can hurt you, you can still get hits in). Regarding bosses that stay out of the arena (can't be regularly attacked) and have multiple phases, nerf the number of hits for each phase down to just one or two, so players only have to fight them once.

Then there's the lack of anti-frustration features/design. People have said before that regarding the really long bosses (Cyber Station and the final boss), the problem isn't so much knowing what to expect with each phase (outside of stuff like Fang's final boss) than it is holding onto enough rings to continue (which is where I would say implementing "mid-boss" checkpoints would work best). There is such a lack of room for error that even for seasoned Sonic players, there's just too much bullshit to avoid not taking any damage. I've already floated around having the Unleashed approach to rings as an option (only losing half of your rings instead of all, though lost rings can't be recollected); but simply having (more) rings available (and replenish if needed) during the battles would also work wonders.

Rebalancing bosses also presents the perfect opportunity to bring the insta-shield back to Superstars (its absence in a boss-heavy game like this renders the game's lack of it --in contrast to 3&K and Mania-- very glaring). I'd also go the extra mile of making sure it co-exists with the drop dash in the moveset, and actually has a buffed hitbox compared to 3&K (instead of Mania nerfing it).

And if people for whatever reason want the original/unbalanced difficulty and design, you could keep it around for them as a bonus difficulty mode ("Normal" vs "Hard/Original"). I imagine most people however would gladly pass.

But at this point, I'd be surprised if ST/Arzest were even willing to go that far, compared to the QoL updates Taxman and co. did for Mania up until the release of the Encore Pack DLC/Mania Plus. I think they've only done a couple of bugs to patch out certain egregious glitches for Superstars, and that's it.

 

If this game didn't have the bosses it has, I'd rage quit because it'd be a waste of my time and I'd consider it just another dumb cutesy plaformer (I hate platformers in general).

What if the player likes gauntlets of obstacles and projectiles over a period of time before a miniscule chance to strike (like me)? I live for the endurance exclusively.

 

Not to be rude, but if you hate platformers what are you doing on a forum dedicated to a platforming video game series?

 

Sonic is the exception but I never found it difficult enough.

 

Already addressed.

 

Who exactly was the target audience for this game and why did Sega think they wanted multiple punishing bosses that last longer than most of the acts? How long do we think the average player spent before finally defeating Trip’s final boss and the dragon?

 

I'm finding that I've soured on this game more as time goes on. I gave up on Trip's story at the final boss, and thought that going back to the main campaign and trying time attack would result in me vibing with the game more; maybe it would start to really grow on me if I wasn't playing something I found miserable. While that has been a much more pleasant gameplay experience, I still just can't stay interested in playing it. Last several times (outside of the fun co-op chaos from last week), I've caught myself thinking "I'd rather be playing Sonic 2 or 3K". I ended up doing just that, and had a much better time. I never had this experience with Mania, and that makes me wonder how much of an impact the combination of "not pixel art" and "Sonic 4 Episode III: The Soundtrack" is having. Or maybe Trip's campaign really just killed it for me, I dunno.

Prior to launch I was planning on grabbing two copies of this, a digital copy on Steam to play and mod, and a physical copy to sit on my shelf alongside the Genesis games, various compilations, Advance 1, and Mania Plus. I had zero qualms about grabbing that second copy, even at full price. Yet last week, after putting a dozen hours into the game, I was seeing physical copies of this at Best Buy for half the price and I wasn't particularly compelled to pick one up. Just doesn't belong there in my head the way I expected it to. Oh well. I guess we'll see if that changes as the years go on.

 

How would you like it if these gauntlets were more interspersed? I've been thinking-- no one complained about Speed Jungle Act Sonic, not even as Trip, even though it is reasonably difficult for a second zone challenge and has instakill too. And the difference there is, the whole stage is the gauntlet, with breathers in between the phases. Golden Capital Act 2 has a whole ass normal (and frankly boring) stage before a multiple-phase showdown against Fang and lava, which could've been the whole Act on its own. Wouldn't it have been better, but still difficult, if Superstars framed its hard challenges like that?

 

Heads up if you want to try to get the comic skins for console without spending a bunch of money at Kroger: The first 12 days of December you can earn the points on the website through a Wordle clone. The current word as of this post for me was NIGHT.

https://www.pointsrewardsplus.com/santaswordshop

 

Huh, I only earned 100 points by getting it first try. Yesterday it took me 'til the fourth and I got 200. So it's probably random. I seemed to get 1000 bonus points for signing up, so at this rate I should have it in another day or two.

Also worth nothing that this is only for the console versions. As of right now, the only way to get them on Steam is to have been there for the first 20 minutes the game was out, when Sega accidentally put all the DLC up for free.

 

I've decided that this track is actually pretty rad. Anyone else have musical hot takes?

 

Press Factory Act 1 is a legit banger. Especially that chorus that starts at 0:38. There's such a sense of pressure and intensity, and it really suits the industrial theme. It's probably my favourite melody in the game. And the level is actually pretty rad too. When the game largely teeters on the good side of mid, Press Factory 1 stands out as a quirky and fun level with an fun gimmick and design.

But you already know what I'm going to say next about the music; the choice instrumentation is crap, any the loop is too damn short. Senoue still does a great job of creating an atmosphere (usually, because what the fuck is all of this), but he made very bad choices in both choosing a pseudo-retro direction for his tracks and in how he went about doing so. The chorus would sound amazing on an electric guitar or other modern synths, but he just hasn't got that message despite the criticisms leveled at two S4 games and Origins, and the fact that all of the other musicians who worked on Superstars went for far less restrictive approaches. And that fucking S1 snare... Let the damn thing die.

Shout out to John Tay for yet another stellar rearrangement.




Does anyone find it odd that SEGA have yet to say anything about a soundtrack release for Superstars? They're normally hot on it, announcing the soundtrack weeks before a game's launch. But the game has been out for a month and a half and we've not heard a thing yet.

 

I don't share the enthusiasm for this theme. I do like the intro, but there are many things I dislike:

• The articulation of the notes in the melodies is extremely stiff and plain;
• All melodies (except for the intro) use the same voice/instrument;
• There is little dynamic range (i.e.: more or less everything plays at the same volume);
• There is little melodic range (i.e.: more or less everything is always in the same, what, two octaves);
• Of course, instrumentation sucks;

So it all feels like a MIDI karaoke version of a song that never had lyrics in the first place. Rearrangements seem to always try to overcompensate the first point, adding bends and pitch shifts on every note, but the fact that it's basically the same voice all throughout is actually the worst part. Adding an actual countermelody would be more important than turning everything into electric guitars for me. It needs far more texture, and that could have been achieved even with faux-retro sounds.

The percussion doesn't help either; every time there seems like we'll have any kind of little downtime or tension holding or opportunity for other melodies or instruments to shine, there comes a drum fill to remind you that you can't have that, ever. I guess it does conveys that industrial vibe, but it gets old very fast, especially in a short loop.

It's still way better than Act 2 though. Also now that I've had time to think about it, Press Factory Act 1 is definitely my favorite level in the game.

 

Yea, people hear the Sonic 1/2 snare and instantly have a stroke which renders them incapable of ever actually listening to the music.

 

Sonic 4 brainrot is a real thing, I tell ya.

 

Sorry for any trouble this might cause, but there's something I need to know. Is Sonic Superstars good?

Look I get it, that's a very personalized question, but there has to be a majorty-rule here?

I tried getting a straightforward answer but I just can't get one. You guys are all over the place, YouTube is all over the place, Social Media is all over the place, I just can't get an answer anywhere.

SomecallmeJohnny gave it a 7-8/10 (7/10 Multiplayer, 8/10 Single), but RadicalSoda didn't like it, but RelaxAlax did like it? But how am I supposed to use their opinions, what if you don't even know most of those guys.

Why not just my opinion? Nobody cares what I think, so I'm trying to determine what people who others care about think. So end all be all. If the game is good, how do I prove that online?